Introduction and Case Exterior

FSP is a familiar name in power supplies, and in the last year we have also seen the company branch out with CPU coolers (with the excellent Windale series reviewed last year) and cases. The latest of these enclosures is the CMT520, the second in their CMT series and featuring front and side tempered glass panels to showcase no fewer than four included RGB fans.

Glass can of course present some obstacles to cooling performance, particularly when the front intake is covered (as the gap between glass and fans becomes crucial), so we will see if the case's performance is equal to the elegance of its looks in this review.

Introduction and Case Exterior

The Meshify C - TG from Fractal Design is a high-airflow ATX case design with some added style from its unique angled front panel. Throw in a tempered glass side panel and a pair of pre-installed Dynamic X2 GP-12 120 mm fans and the $89.99 price tag looks pretty good - but how did it perform? We'll find out.

Having reviewed a few Fractal Design cases in the past three years I have come to expect a few things from their enclosures: solid construction, intelligent internal layouts, and excellent cable management. As to style, their cases are generally understated, and the Meshify's black color scheme with a tinted glass side certainly fits the bill - though the angled front mesh design catches the light and does add some visual interest.

More than a single enclosure, Meshify is now a dedicated line from Fractal Design, with a new Meshify C Mini for mATX/mITX motherboards, as well as variants of this Meshify C including a model with a solid side panel (the standard Meshify C) and one with dark-tinted glass (Meshify C - Dark TG). Regardless of which model you might be considering, they share a common design focused on high airflow (with a full compliment of filters), flexible storage options, and maximizing component space within their compact dimensions.

Introduction and First Impressions

Launching today, Corsair’s new Carbide Series 275R case is a budget-friendly option that still offers plenty of understated style with clean lines and the option of a tempered glass side panel. Corsair sent us a unit to check out, so we have a day-one review to share. How does it compete against recent cases we’ve looked at? Find out here!

The Carbide 275R is a compact mid-tower design that still accommodates standard ATX motherboards, large CPU coolers (up to 170 mm tall), and long graphics cards, and it includes a pair of Corsair’s SP120 fans for intake/exhaust. The price tag? $69.99 for the version with an acrylic side, and $79.99 for the version with a tempered glass side panel (as reviewed). Let’s dive in, beginning with a rundown of the basic specs.

Jonsbo, a Shenzhen based case manufacturer founded in 2010 has unleashed a new stylish flagship mid tower called the UMX5. The new case measures 507mm x 224mm x 485mm and is constructed of a steel frame wrapped in anodized aluminum-magnesium alloy and tempered glass. The new case has a ribbed design that runs vertically over the top and front panels. Jonsbo claims that the valleys have been sandblasted to dull their look while the 5.5mm tall wiredrawn peaks/ribs have been polished to enhance the contrast and catch the eye.

There is a gap of 3.5cm between the bottom of the main chamber of the case and the foot for ventilation and looks (it is under-lit with RGB LEDs of course). The back panel is fairly plain though they have opted for a honeycomb style fan grill for the included 120mm exhaust fan. The side panels steal the show with 5mm thick double sided tempered glass on both sides of the case to show off all of the internals (I am less sold on the idea of the right-side panel being glass as that means I would have to actually cable manage and not just hide it all behind the motherboard tray! Custom sleeved PSU cables that are the exact length needed are going to be essential to making builds in this case look good. The tempered glass does have a bit of a tint to it though so it's not the end fo the world.)

The front 1/3 or so of the left side panel is overlaid by a honeycomb pattern that can be illuminated by a RGB LED. Front I/O includes the usual two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, and two audio jacks as well as a button to change the LEDs color scheme or to turn them off completely.

Users can set the case LEDs to color change mode where it will cycle through 264 colors, to a single color of red, green, blue, yellow, purple, pink, turquoise, or orange, to a (red only) breathing mode, or set to off.

The UMX5 is designed for ATX motherboards, but it can work with a small number of E-ATX models (305mm x 265mm maximum). Further, the UMX5 mid tower supports CPU coolers up to 166mm tall and graphics cards up to 325mm long. There are four 3.5” hard drive bays with red anodized aluminum sleds as well as room for two 2.5” drives behind the motherboard tray. The PSU sits vertically behind the motherboard tray and hidden towards the front of the case behind a glass cover along with the hard drives.

As far as cooling, there are fan mounting points in the top, bottom, and rear though Jonsbo only includes a single 120mm rear fan. Users can add up to two 120mm fans to the top and two 120mm fans to the bottom. If they are water cooling, they can use up to two 240mm radiators top and bottom and a single 120mm in the rear. If using a thick radiator, you can mount the bottom fans outside of the case in the 35mm ventilation chamber gap.

Jonsbo’s UMX5 is a decent looking case that will come in either black (with red accents on the HDD trays and around the left side panel) or silver.

The case has an MSRP of 199.99 € (Euro) including 19% VAT (~$200 USD sans VAT). I can’t seem to find it available online anywhere quite yet, but it should hit Europe shortly. It’s not clear how long it will be (if ever) until it hits the US, however.

In general, I like the look of the case, though I wish the red drive trays and side panel could be swapped out for different colors. The silver UMX5 is a bit better in this respect as it does not have the red border on the left side panel (it’s all silver except the drive trays which are red), but the black UMX5 is stuck with the red border which is okay if you are also using red LEDs but just looks odd if you are going with any other color. Beyond that the case is on the pricier side of things, but if the build quality (and cable management) is truly there the modders and enthusiasts will come!

Introduction and First Impressions

A large mid-tower design featuring tempered glass side panels and a mix of aluminum and steel exterior construction, the RGB-imbued Shogun is every bit what you would expect a ‘flagship’ enclosure from BitFenix to be. So did it get our seal of approval? Read on to find out!

The BitFenix Shogun appears at first glance to be a full-tower enclosure, but it is actually using a form-factor that BitFenix calls “super mid-tower”, and it has the seven expansion slots of a mid-tower design. It supports E-ATX motherboards on down, and has some interesting features to help set it apart in a highly competitive enclosure market.

The Shogun’s compatibility with ASUS Aura motherboard lighting effects makes it a good option for the RGB lighting inclined, and there are some nice exterior touches such as the sculpted top and bottom aluminum panels and (of course) those tempered glass sides. The Shogun competes in the premium space, but is still palatable at $149 for what is on the surface a pretty impressive-looking package.

The open interior and glass side panel invite impressive builds (Image credit: BitFenix)

BitFenix had several new PC cases on display at its Computex booth, but the one that caught my eye was the sub-$100 Enso mid-tower that has some premium features including a large tempered glass side panel, RGB LED and fan controllers, removable filters, and various cable management features. The BitFenix Enso has a clean design that out of the box limits the RGB to a nice looking front panel while allowing enthusiasts to go crazy with aftermarket LED strips and LED fans if they wish.

The new Enso chassis measures 8.2" x 19.2" x 14.4" (209 x 487 x 442mm).and is clad in all black with clean lines and edges that strikes a balance between boxy and gaudy (heh). The front is a smooth panel that slightly angles out (no external drive support here) with RGB LEDs in all four corners. The front I/O is up top with two USB 3.0, two audio, and power and reset buttons. The left side is almost entirely comprised of a tempered glass side panel that is held on by black thumbscrews.

The top has a mesh grill with support for two 120mm fans along with a removable magnetic fan filter. There is also room for a 120mm fan in the back and two 120mm fans up front (where there is also a removable filter that pulls out from the left side of the front panel). There is not enough room up top for a water cooling radiator up top, but there is plenty of room for up to a 240mm radiator in the front.

The bottom of the case has a compartment for the bottom mounted up to 220mm power supply (which also has a removable dust filter) and two 3.5” drives along with space to hide excess cables. This area is covered by a simple black shroud that should make cable management easier.

Dropping support for external drive bays and extra 3.5” bays, BitFenix is able to support E-ATX motherboards, long graphics cards (up to 320mm, their demo used an Asus Strix GTX 1080), and water cooling radiators in a compact mid-tower case. BitFenix states it is possible to mount a 360mm radiator in the front, but it the specifications suggest if you would be limited to two fans with matching vents.

The right side panel is blank, and removing it reveals the back of the motherboard tray. There is room for three 2.5” SSDs with one behind the motherboard and two behind the front fans. The motherboard tray has a large CPU cutout, lots of spots to tie up cables, and rubber grommets for passing cables through to the motherboard and graphics card. Having move of the components sitting behind the motherboard tray means that making a clean looking build will be a bit easier (no drive power cables to hide).

The front panel RGB LEDs are “addressable” which is to say that they can be controlled via the controller at the back or via software where BitFenix is working with Asus to allow its RGB LEDs to be controlled with its Aurora software. There is also a fan controller that looks to accept PWM and control 3-pin fans from that signal. The case is also compatible with LED fans and LEDs strips (the BitFenix demo used strips from Asus that could be controlled with the Asus software). As far as the front panel, you can choose a color or activate a gentle pulsing color change mode that cycles through the colors of the rainbow.

Out of the box, the BitFenix Enso will have the front panel LEDs and controllers, but users will need to purchase fans and/or LED strips separately. This is not necessarily bad news though because it allows enthusiasts to pick the fans and LEDs they want (or don’t want), and it also allows the case to hit the budget sub-$100 market with lots of nice DIY-friendly features.

According to a BitFenix representative, the BitFenix Enso will arrive around the end of Q3 2017 or towards the beginning of Q4 with an MSRP of $79.

It looks like an impressive budget case, and if they can hit that $79 target it should be a great value that will let you show off your DIY build without breaking the bank! From the videos at Computex, I am really liking the design as well. What are your thoughts?

Today FSP Group (a company mainly known for power supplies with headquarters in Taiwan) is launching a new mid tower ATX computer case called the CMT210. The new PC mid-tower features a transparent side window, black angular exterior with LED accents, and a focus on cooling performance. The 460mm x 220mm x 432mm steel case is aimed at gamers and enthusiasts that want to show off their PC internals.

The front of the CMT210 mid tower is dominated by a massive filtered vent that houses up to three 120mm fans or a 360mm water cooling radiator. The large vent with angled “water droplet” mesh is surrounded by a shroud that features colored accents in either black, red, silver, or deep blue depending on the model you choose. Up top the case offers two audio jacks, two USB 3.0 ports, and a single USB 2.0 port. (The USB 3.0 ports can be plugged into a USB 2.0 motherboard header with the included adapter if you are still holding off on upgrading to Kaby Lake or Ryzen.)

The top of the case is flat with no vents, and there are also no vents on the bottom. Instead there is a single 120mm exhaust fan vent at the rear of the case. FSP includes two of its own 120mm LED fans with the case that come pre-installed in the front and back.

The CMT210 is compatible with ATX motherboards, seven PCI slots, three 3.5” and three 2.5” tool-less drive bays, CPU coolers up to 160mm high and graphics cards up to 360mm long, and ATX power supplies (20.5cm). The power supply is bottom mounted in this case and the storage drives are snapped into trays in the bottom-front caddy and motherboard tray. There are cutouts for cable routing but no rubber grommets (not the end of the world, but they are a nice touch).

FSP claims that its new case is designed with "cooling, expansion, and compatibility" in mind. It is available now in the US though pricing is still unknown as retailers have not put up product pages yet. For more information on the CMT210 you can find details on this product page and this video.

I am curious how well the cooling setup will work with only a single exhaust fan especially if you had a multi GPU setup with aftermarket coolers. Hopefully Sebastian can put it through its paces at some point to examine the build quality and cooling prowess claims. If the price is right, it could be a good budget case as it does not look too bad and does not go crazy with LEDs and bling which is nice to see (I may just be getting old though haha).

What are your thoughts on PSU maker FSP Group getting into the case market?

Antec revealed a new mid tower case aimed at gaming PCs for the European market. The GX1200 mid tower measures 510mm x 200mm x 510mm and supports motherboards up to E-ATX in size. The GX1200 is rather stylized with angled front and top panels along with a large windowed side panel and hexagonal mesh front panel grill. I/O sits on the top edge and includes two audio jacks, a power button, two USB 3.0 ports, and a button to control the LEDs (on/off and mode selection e.g. pulsing, color changing, blinking, and fading).

Antec includes two 120mm RGB LED fans on the front intake and the case also sports an LED under-glow lighting. The case mounted LEDs and up to six fans are controlled using the “Antec Magic Box” which is the company’s fan controller. In addition to the included front intake fans, users can install a 140mm fans in the front and back and two 140mm fans on top. On the water cooling front, it is possible to install a 120mm radiator in back, 280mm radiator up top and a 360mm radiator in the front. Not bad for a mid-tower though you do give up optical drives (there are no 5.25” bays on this case).

Internally, the Antec GX1200 features a bottom mounted PSU (with removable dust filter albeit removable from the rear much to Ryan’s dismay) in its own chamber to help hide cables and isolate heat, two 3.5” bays, three 2.5” SSD mounts, seven PCI slots, and support for graphics cards up to 410mm (~16-inches) in length. There are also various locations to tie up cable bundles behind the motherboard tray as well as holes to pass wires through (though there are no rubber grommets, they are just cut outs).

I am not a huge fan of the aesthetics (I have seen worse though and I may just be getting old hah!), but it does seem like a functional case. It will be available in Europe for 84€ (approximately $95 USD) soon. There is no word on US availability yet.

If you like minimalist cases, the Lian Li Ebonsteel PC K6 is worth taking a peek at. They relocated the buttons and I/O ports to the top of the case, which also sports a magnetically attached cover hiding 280x140mm mounting point for cooling. The dimensions of 220x495x515mm give you quite a bit of space, GPUs have 310mm clearance and CPU coolers 170mm. The HDD bay can accommodate up to seven 2.5/3.5" drives and the body and panels are all made of SECC, giving the case a bit of weight but also ensuring it will survive mimor abuses. Drop by Modders Inc if the picture below appeals to you.

"In the PC case arena, Lian Li is known as one of the premier case makers for aluminum cases. As long as I can remember they were the leader and the one I personally hoped to own some day. Their fairly simple but well thought out designs made them popular but the higher price tag was not in reach for …"